It was an impressive performance by Moussa Diaby in a Les Bleus shirt: In the 8-0 victory for France against Kazakhstan, the Leverkusen player not only helped ensure qualification for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar but also played a significant role on the pitch: Just one minute after coming off the bench, the 22-year-old appeared to have scored his first goal for the Equipe Tricolore but it was ruled out due to Kylian Mbappe being offside (73'). Shortly after that, he fed the ball through to the same superstar from Paris Saint-Germain for his fourth goal and the final strike in the 8-0 scoreline (87').
The next international for the French side is on Tuesday night, 16 November (kick-off: 20.45 CET) against Bayer 04 teammate Lukas Hradecky and his Finnish compatriots. However, the match is not crucial for the group leaders – Diaby and Co. are certain to finish top.
Lukas Hradecky with Finland secured an important 3-1 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday. In spite of being a man down after 37 minutes, the Eagle Owls, with an in-form Leverkusen goalkeeper, produced an impressive performance and moved up to second place in Group D with the win.
Finland need to get a result against France and Diaby on Tuesday to qualify for the World Cup and protect their place in the table against Ukraine. They play Bosnia-Herzegovina at the same time.
Edmond Tapsoba was in action with Burkina Faso on Friday. The game against Niger ended in a 1-1 draw. That means Tapsoba and Co. are second in Group A in the Africa World Cup qualifiers. The 22-year-old played the full 90 minutes. On Tuesday, 16 November (kick-off: 17.00 CET), Burkina Faso play the current group leaders Algeria.
Odilon Kossounou featured for the Ivory Coast on Saturday night. The 20-year-old also went the full distance and was able to celebrate a 3-0 win against Mozambique with his teammates. That puts the Ivory Coast top of Group D with 13 out of a possible 15 points from five games. The next match on Tuesday (kick-off: 20.00 CET) is against Cameroon who are currently in second place on 12 points.
Jonathan Tah (World Cup qualifier)
14.11, 18.00 CET, Armenia vs Germany, Yerevan
Lukas Hradecky (World Cup qualifier)
16.11, 20.45 CET, Finland vs France, Helsinki
Moussa Diaby (World Cup qualifier)
16.11, 20.45 CET, Finland vs France, Helsinki
Jeremie Frimpong (U21 Euro qualifier)
15.11, 14.00 CET, Gibraltar U21 vs Netherlands U21, Gibraltar
Amine Adli (U21 Euro qualifier)
16.11, 18.30 CET, Macedonia U21 vs France U21, Skopje
Exequiel Palacios (World Cup qualifier)
17.11, 00.30 CET, Argentina vs Brazil, San Juan
Piero Hincapie (World Cup qualifiers)
17.11., 01.15 CET, Chile vs Ecuador, Santiago de Chile
Edmond Tapsoba (World Cup qualifier)
16.11, 17.00 CET, Algeria vs Burkina Faso, Blida
Odilon Kossounou (World Cup qualifier)
16.11, 20.00 CET, Cameroon vs Ivory Coast, Yaoundé
Emrehan Gedikli (U19 Euro qualifier)
16.11, 14.00 CET, Greece U19 vs Germany U19, Nafpaktos
Iker Bravo (U19 Euro qualifier)
16.11, 18.00 CET, Belgium U19 vs Spain U19, Bissen
Zidan Sertdemir (U19 friendly)
16.11, 11.00 CET, Portugal U19 vs Denmark U19, Capital do Movel
With seven points, Mainz 05 are currently joint seventh, level on points with sixth-placed Bayer 04. In today’s head-to-head clash (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself must be particularly wary of the clinical Mainz strike duo. For Leverkusen fans who have left it to the last minute, there are still a few tickets available from the matchday ticket office. Those following the Black and Reds from home, on the other hand, have a choice: RTL is broadcasting the match on free-to-air TV, and Werkself Radio is also offering the expert commentary of former Bayer 04 player Falko Götz. Today’s matchday news.
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Back from the international break: On Saturday 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself are away to Mainz 05. Ahead of the clash at the MEWA ARENA against the side currently sixth in the table, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about the team’s work during the extended international break. The Spaniard also commented, when asked, on a number of squad matters, including Ibrahim Maza.
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FSV Mainz 05 went into the international break on the back of an away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Currently sixth in the table, the Rheinhessen side – who have been impressive on the road – now aim to continue their good start to the Bundesliga campaign at home when they face the Werkself on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). In terms of squad selection, Urs Fischer once again has more options at his disposal. Up front, the Mainz coach is likely to continue relying on what is currently the league’s most successful strike partnership. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Thomas Eichin has been working for Bayer 04 for six years – as Director of Professional Teams since July 2023 – and has contributed to the successful development of our club in many areas. Today, Friday 9 October, Freiburg-born Eichin is celebrating his 60th birthday. We wish him a very happy birthday.
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Together with his family, friends and close associates, Bayer 04 Leverkusen bid farewell to Peter Hermann. The club’s long-serving assistant manager passed away on 19 September following a serious illness. Today, Thursday 8 October, Bayer 04 held an event attended by around 200 invited guests to commemorate Peter Hermann’s legacy. Representatives from the DFB and the other professional clubs where Hermann worked paid their respects to him at the BayArena.
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